Christmas Blessings

 

Merry Christmas!

 

May peace and all that is good

bless you this Christmas.

May the hope born at

Christmas be yours.

May you be filled with

strength and courage

to share the Good News:

Jesus Christ is born for us!

Emmanuel

 

Emmanuel… God with us! Let us trust in that!

Emmanuel… God with us! Let that promise sink deeply into us!

Emmanuel… God with us! Always! No matter what!

Emmanuel… God with Us! Even when we don’t get it!

 

Emmanuel…

God with us! Are we quiet enough to hear God’s voice?

Emmanuel…

God with us! Are our hearts open enough to let God’s dreams in?

Emmanuel…

God with us! Are we ready to let go of fear and worries?

Emmanuel…

God with us! Are we people of peace, people of hope, people of welcome?

 

Emmanuel… God with us!

Not just on a road to Bethlehem…

Not just in a stable…

Not just in the 33 years of the life of God’s Son…

No… God with us!

God with us now! God with us always!

 

Just as Jesus needed Mary and Joseph 2000 years ago.

Jesus needs us today.

Christ needs us!

He needs us to be ourselves,

the creation of God we each are!

Christ needs us!

He needs us to love deeply,

share generously and hope endlessly.

Christ needs us!

He needs us to be witnesses,

part of his light, to build his kingdom.

 

Christ needs us!

He needs us because we are all the

beloved children of God,

He needs us because we are each great,

He needs us so that his love may be more complete.

Christ needs us!

Jesus – Messiah – Christ - Saviour – Emmanuel… God with Us! Let us trust in that!

May our hearts this Christmas and always,

so we may hear God say ‘I am with you!’

Amen.

I would like to leave you with a Christmas challenge no matter how old or young you are, no matter what your family make up is. Take the time to stop at the Manger/Nativity Scene at your church this Christmas after Mass (and the one in your home), stop for a moment and say a prayer... this simple action will remind others why we celebrate.
Make an Emmanuel statement.



Merry Christmas Everyone!
May the hope and love of the Christ Child touch your hearts.
May the Christmas Season be a time of blessings for you
and may 2014 be filled with many graces for the journey.

Thank you for your support and prayers.
This will be the last blog until after the New Year... check back again in January.

Saying Yes to Emmanuel

The Third Week of Advent, the days grow shorter and darker, but yet we are filled with joy and hope, for we know the promise of Emmanuel.

This week at the Friary we are leading a 3 day Advent Mission. I'm part of the planning and presenting team. It really is a blessing to be a part of something that I hope to be able do as a Franciscan.

As we journey closer to Christmas my blog this week is my reflection for the Mission. Our theme is Saying Yes to Emmanuel. My topic within the theme is Mary's 'Yes'! May Mary remind us that we all have our part to do.

 

Yes...For Emmanuel to Come Among Us

She said ‘Yes!’ I have always been fascinated that Mary said ‘yes!’ A young girl, about thirteen or fourteen, has angel appear and she says ‘yes!’

I look at my own life when I was thirteen or fourteen, and I know that my ‘yes’ would not have come so quickly. Even though I feel I had a deep connection with God at that time or at least I knew my faith life was growing, I would have not so easily said yes, even to an angel.

My parents would testify to this. Many a time it would be ‘Michael can you do the dishes?’ Yup I will. ‘Michael can you please make sure your brothers get their homework done?’ Yup I will. ‘Michael can you please go out to the garden and pick the peas?’ Yup I will.

You see the difference between Mary’s yes and my yes, is that she followed through on it quite quickly, where as my yes was instant, but often meant another reminder or two or delayed reaction or a ‘yes, but…’ or a threat needed to be made before I followed through on my promise.

But not Mary, in her ‘yes’, she embraced God’s promise to her people and to generations to come. She embraced bearing a child, when she herself was still a child. She embraced having to endure ignorance from people she thought were her friends, to being very much alone at times, to challenges, to being scared, to times of pain, but she said ‘yes.’

May be she never thought of any of that and simply said ‘yes’ out of trust. Simply saying ‘yes’ out of ‘God is calling me, I must respond’. She was young and open and full of trust. She was open to God touching her heart. She was open to God’s plan even though she did not know all what that would mean. Yet she was willing to risk it all, to say ‘yes!’ A Yes that would include Christ being born, yes to accepting her mission, yes to raising and loving him, yes to hardship, yes to letting him go, yes to watching him die, yes to the glory of his resurrection.

She said ‘yes!’ She was open and she trusted. Maybe that is the secret of staying in tune with our God, to keep at heart the innocence, pure, hopeful and strong yes of a child.

In the major motion picture ‘The Nativity Story’ that was released a few years ago, there is a scene where Mary and Joseph are journeying to Bethlehem and they stop for the night on the side of the road. Mary asks Joseph about his dream. At first he hesitates to tell her, but then confirms the same message she had received, that the child within in her was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and that he was not to be afraid. Mary then asks him ‘Are you afraid?’ He pauses for a moment and then says ‘yes, he is’. He then asks her the same question and she agrees with him. And then they wonder, when they will know that their child is more than a child or if they will be able to teach him anything. It is a very intimate moment in the movie. It shows how very human we all are and that God was willing and still is willing to step into that.

In the first letter of John there is a line that reads ‘perfect love casts out fear.’ Perfect love casts out fear. God’s love is perfect and Mary and Joseph, Elizabeth and Zechariah embraced that love and let it subside the fear that sat within them as they said ‘yes’ to God.

Do we?

Do we let God’s perfect love come in dwell within in us?

One of the many names for Jesus is Emmanuel – God with us! Do we let perfect love come and dwell within us or do we find excuses, or say yes but with these conditions or do we at this busy time of year fill our yes up with demands of the season (eggnog, with party after party, with cookies to be icing and with perfect gifts to be found)?

I’m by no means saying to cut these special items out of our Advent preparations but do we leave enough room to say ‘yes’ to Emmanuel?

Yes!

I will trust!

Yes as part of my everyday!

Yes to the adventure of life!

Yes to today, to tomorrow and beyond.

Yes to my gifts shared and more to share!

Yes

in reaching out to others,

in helping the less fortunate,

in defending life,

in giving and not counting the cost,

in loving, even when it’s hard.

Yes to simply being,

in gratitude

in generosity

in looking beyond myself

Yes to the gift of life,

to forgiveness

in remembering that God is present,

God’s perfect love is present, even when life seems bleak.

Do we say yes?

Yes to God’s kingdom that has no end?

Yes to the promise that nothing is impossible with God?

Mary said yes to all of this.

Mary stood at the center of God’s plan? Where do we stand?

Are our hearts ready to accept Emmanuel again this Christmas?

 

 

Help us say ‘yes’, O God

to your perfect love,

that you may work wonders through our lives,

that the world may know your Son, Emmanuel,

through our words and actions,

that we may proclaim you with greatness and joy until the end of time.

Amen.

 

 

 

PS.

Holly grows around here quite freely and easily.

These 2 photos are of the tree at our entrance

 

The Simplicty of Christmas Lights

As this Advent Season unfolds and I journey in a new place I am obviously encountering new highlights in the journey this season.

 

Advent has always had a special place in my heart. Right from my childhood the waiting and the preparing has always spoken to my heart. From Advent calendars, to house work, to community events, to finally decorating; the waiting was active and the preparing was for than a day. As a child I was being formed into appreciating a whole season both Advent & Christmas. As I have grown up and moved out on my own I have worked at continuing these gifts that were instilled in me. It has taken work and effort, but anything good should do so. It has meant saying no to party invites, it has meant spending some quiet nights at home, it has been listening to words of scripture and music, and it has been keeping in touch with family and friends. So this year in my Postulancy year I was curious to see how this would unfold. Would I need it to be different? Would it be forced on me to be different? Would it feel like Advent?

Well now that we are into week 2 of the season, I can say the Advent journey has had similar experiences of my past, but it has also called me to be more attentive to areas in my life. One of my favorite things about Advent is the scriptures that is proclaimed each Sunday. There is such rich images in these holy words. They call me to enter in to the journey more, to seek how they are intertwined in my life and how they call me to give witness to Emmanuel. A challenge I have placed upon myself this season is to spend at least 3 sessions of 10 minutes a week reading the scripture for the upcoming Sunday. This is not necessarily new to me, but it feels more intense this year. I am reading the scripture differently, I am seeking more understanding, I am embracing it as more of a guide for the journey, and I am letting the words paint images that help lead me to Christ. 3x10 minutes is not a lot of time, but it is minutes I look forward to each week. Another gift of the season that I have loved since I have been a boy is a daily Advent reflection book. This year I am being fed by words of wisdom that are deepening my encounter of Emmanuel, causing me to ponder my journey and what I am offering.

 

 

I have also sought out experiences of the season that the community offers. I have been to an Anglican Advent Prayer Evening, a Nativity Scene Exhibit (625+ crèches - let's just say I was close to being in heaven) and have been to a Light Parade. I will also be taken in an Advent Carol Evening at the Catholic Cathedral and I’m sure other events will pop up in the weeks ahead. Being in this new place is obviously challenging me to remember that  I can’t see and do everything, and that I need time to be quiet and pray and listen to God speaking to me.

 

 

It was while watching the Light Parade that I was struck with a profound thought. I was trying to figure out why on earth I had tears welling up as I watched a parade and at the same time why on earth I was so excited to see these lights. The profound thought that struck me was ‘Maybe I have been Franciscan my whole life, maybe I was raised in a Franciscan home!?’ Well maybe that is not a profound thought maybe it is more of a silly thought.

 

It was that thought which had me thinking about past Advents; what kept surfacing was the simplicity of the season and the events I have chosen to be part of in the season. I thought back to my childhood and how it was simple things (traditions, carols, nights at home, etc.) in the season that brought me joy, I think to my young adult life and how it was the need to keep traditions of the season prominent and I think to now and how the simplicity of reading God’s word and going to a parade has made me appreciate the simplicity that St. Francis has invited me to experience more deeply. So my thoughts about being Franciscan my whole life and being raised in a Franciscan home are maybe not so far-fetched. These simple gifts of waiting and preparing and how they were introduced to me long ago have lead me to walking this Franciscan path.

Thank God for Christmas Lights to shine some light on my path! Let them shine bright this season!!

 

 

 

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Okay, technically in a liturgical sense I know that the title of this blog belongs to Christmas and Easter, but for me Advent truly is the most wonderful time of the year. For someone like myself who is a planner and organizer this season is such a great journey so it the most wonderful time. I love the simplicity we are called to, I love the preparing for the Christmas Season, the prayers, the special readings, the scriptures, the candle lighting and the traditions. Oh the traditions…

I am so thankful that my parents instilled in me a great sense of tradition, and I think some of my first memories are connected with traditions of Advent. Some of our traditions were born out of a faith upbringing, some were born out of memories, some were born out of the reality that my parents own a grocery store and December is a busy month. Traditions take the simple in life and make them special and for me that opens my heart up to the gifts of the Season.

So as this Advent season begins I enjoy rich traditions even here in the Friary, some of my brothers have joined me in sharing in these traditions- these parts of me I bring with and offer to the community. Let me share a few of my favorite traditions with you, as you consider your own.

 

Obviously because it is a New Church Year and Season the first tradition comes in décor. Our chapel was transformed from the greens of Ordinary Time to the purples of Advent and a beautiful Advent wreath. Oh the beautiful smell of the evergreen! This transformation is also part of my own created tradition that my own space gets a bit of makeover with a few Christmas decorations appearing.

Then comes a true treat for me, after Mass on the First Sunday of Advent I head to the kitchen to enjoy my first Christmas (mandarin) orange of the season, along with a delicious glass of Eggnog! Two delectable Advent treats I look forward to each year. As I peel the orange and sip the eggnog I enter into the season, I’m transported to my childhood and I look ahead to the journey of Advent. (If I was at home I would be drinking the eggnog from a special Christmas mug or cup). I also enjoy a Red Delicious Apple on each Sunday of Advent (something my Mom started with us not to long ago).

And then the Advent Hymns and Christmas carols begin to play to help me journey and pray through the season.

I am very fond of a good Advent reflection book to help my faith journey and so each morning and night I spend time journeying deeper in faith and preparing for the great feast of Christmas through these readings!

The key for me is that these traditional treats launch me into the season and continue through until the last day of the Christmas Season in January.

 

So Advent truly is a season of senses and I’m so thankful for the senses of smell, taste, sight, touch and hearing they truly do bless the journey.

 

SPECIAL ADVENT NEWS:

This Advent is extra special for my family

as we were blessed with the gift of New Life,

we welcomed a new little one into our fold,

an Advent gift indeed!

I am now the proud Uncle to

3 nephews and 7 nieces,

as Adele entered our world on December 1.

Welcome little one, peace and joy be yours!

 

 

I leave you with these beautiful prayers from the First Sunday of Advent Evening Prayer. May your journey be blessed and may your traditions draw you closer to the joys and promise of Christmas.

 

To Jesus Christ, our Redeemer,

the way, the truth, and the life,

let us make our humble prayer:
Come and stay with us, Lord.

Son of the Most High,

your coming was announced to the Virgin Mary by Gabriel,
– come and rule over your people for ever.
Come and stay with us, Lord.

Holy One of God,

in your presence John the Baptist leapt in Elizabeth’s womb,
– bring the joy of salvation to all the earth.
Come and stay with us, Lord.

Jesus the Savior,

the angel revealed your name to Joseph the just man,
– come and save your people from their sins.
Come and stay with us, Lord.

Light of the world,

for whom Simeon and all the just waited,
– come and comfort us.
Come and stay with us, Lord.

O Rising Sun that never sets,

Zechariah foretold that you would visit us from above,
– come and shine on those who dwell in darkness

and the shadow of death.
Come and stay with us, Lord.

Christ My King! Christ Your King! Christ the King!

This past weekend as we celebrated Christ the King Sunday (and Riders Grey Cup Win) I was keenly aware of the Cross of Christ. It is Christ’s Cross that calls us to life, for it was his dying that leads to life, to his resurrection and the glorious kingship he offers to each of us in our baptism. I have said before that I feel we sometimes we so stuck on the crucified Christ, we forget about the rest of the story, that Jesus offers us paradise and we in turn are called to build up his kingdom through taking up our cross with hope and promise. Being a bearer of the Cross is not a burden, it is a witness that we walk with Christ our King.

 

 

 

Throughout the Grey Cup game we heard and saw about sacrifice, about hard work, about giving it our all to achieve victory. This reminded me once again that the ultimate victory belongs to Christ our King and through our sacrifices, hard work and giving our all we come to embrace this victory, which believe it or not is even better than the Riders Grey Cup victory. I am learning this more and more during this Postulancy year and as I look ahead to continued studies, my Notivate year and how I am being called to trust in God more deeply.

 

So between finishing up my first course, keeping up with the demands of a Postulant, my ministries and daily walks I have been working on being more aware and letting God speak to my heart. It’s hard sometimes to shut up enough to do this but I’m working on it. In this listening as I mentioned above the Cross of Christ has been surfacing, especially the San Damiano Cross which I gaze upon each day. There is so much in this cross, so I offer to you a description of its many messages and my own thoughts of how pondering the cross lead me to understand ‘Jesus Remember Me’ in a deeper way.

 

San Damiano Cross

This is the cross which St. Francis was praying before when the Lord commissioned him to “rebuild the Church.” (The original still hangs in Assisi.)

It is an icon cross because of the style of the image that it includes. With its detail, it teaches more fully the meaning of the crucifixion.

Jesus is portrayed as both wounded and strong, regal and suffering, crucified and resurrected. Note the halo and Jesus’ prominence. There are also color contrasts.

The major witnesses are the second largest figures: the Blessed Mother and the Beloved Disciple, (on the left); Mary Magdalene, Mary, mother of James and the Centurion (on the right). The Centurion’s hand gesture, a classic position of Christian witness, is a traditional sign for ‘I am speaking’ he is saying “Truly this is the Son of God”.

The minor witnesses include the solider who pierced Jesus’ side. He is the smaller figure below Mary, holding the spear. On the opposite side is the solider who offered Jesus the vinegar soaked sponge. Traditionally their names are Longinus and Stephaton.

At the end of the cross, six angels marvel at this event, their hands representing awe, discussion and invitation.

The six figures that are barely seen at the bottom are the patron Saints of the area: Sts. John, Michael, Rufino, John the Baptist, Peter and Paul.

The rooster at Jesus’ left calf represents Peter’s denial.

The resurrection and ascension are portrayed at the top: Jesus in royal garb, brandishing the cross like a scepter (love this description – see the cross takes to greater places!), welcomed by ten angels, alive by the power of God (right hand).

-          Info taken from Catholic Source Book

 

Pretty powerful stuff, huh? So much to ponder each day as I gaze upon it in prayer and as it gazes down upon me as I rest. Between the image of this cross and the gospel from this past weekend I sign off with this reflection…

 

Jesus Remember Me

 

Jesus, please remember me, a child of God, and your brother.

 

Please remember me

when I struggle, when I seek, when I wander.

Please remember me

when sin takes hold, when illness grasps me,

when frustrations roar.

Please remember me

when loneliness pursues, when fears hold fast,

when uncertainty takes control.

Please remember

me when I celebrate, when I rejoice,

when I cherish moments.

Please remember me

when I sit in quiet, when I sing out loud,

when I write my thoughts.

Please remember me

when I gather with community, when I pray lone,

when I serve my brothers and sisters.

Over and over I say Jesus remember me,

but then I remember

that you could never forget one of God’s own.

Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Football and the Radio

What does someone living in Saskatchewan,

Someone from Saskatchewan living elsewhere,

And a Canadian Forces member from Saskatchewan

away on duty have in common?

 

Well to be honest probably a lot of things,

but the thing that came to mind for me this past week

was the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the radio.

 

On Sunday, as I was busy in the kitchen making supper for my brothers, the radio was on and I was listening to the game. I’m not a die-hard football fan but the excitement of the game and the tie to my home was what drew me in. As I busily chopped vegetables I would listen intently to the play by play and make my own comments. It was very exciting to hear a Rider win and I thought of the flurry of green and white back home as celebrations broke out to celebrate.

 

This lead me to memories of growing up and realizing how blessed I was and am to have a home to shelter me and provide me with necessities and wants. Especially now as I see the suffering of our Filipino brothers and sisters, our neighbours to the south and those who call the street their home.

 

Listening to a particular radio station from Saskatchewan also brings me back to my childhood and some of my earliest memories. I remembering lying in bed as a child in the early morning and being awakened by the sound of the radio on as my Dad and Mom had their morning coffee. The news, the music, the sports would play in the background as they prepared for the day and one by one we joined them. I can still tell you where that radio sat and what it looked like. Happy memories.

 

These happy memories again caused me to pause and be thankful for my home. It also caused me again to ponder those who lack a home or lost a home. We are called to be in solidarity with them, yet none of us would give up our homes. Being in solidarity does not call us to give up our homes, but it does call us to be aware of what we have and should call us to give from our plenty to help those both near and far. Through prayer, acts of generosity, donations, acts of kindness and hospitality we build a better world.

 

Thinking about the Riders also made me think of home and thinking of home reminded me of very neat experience I was a part of this past week. Probably one that will not happen too often in my life time. I was part of a Friary blessing this past week. We blessed our new Friary in the community just down the road. It was a beautiful day. The 3 Friars who live there welcomed about 60 people to the blessing including our Provincial (the Friar in charge of Western Canadian Friars). It was a simple celebration of blessing each room, giving praise to God in song and gathering over table to enjoy good food and conversation. It was good to be there and reminded me once again about how we are all called to open our doors and invite Christ in.

 

Welcome Sign at Door. San Damiano is a special place for St. Francis

 

 

The community gathers

The delicious cake made by one of the Poor Clares

As I write this and hear the raining pelting against my window, I again give thanks for the gift of a home, I pray for those who seek shelter, I ask you to do the same and ask you to ponder how you can help our brothers and sisters who are in need of shelter.

 

Funny what listening to a football game on the radio can make you think of!

 

 

Oh and…

 

GO RIDERS!!!!!!!!!!!

Let’s keep the cup in Saskatchewan!

Green is the color, football is the game...

Freedom and Faith

 

November 11 – Remembrance Day has always stirred my heart: the reason why we stop, the pageantry, the honoring, the sounds and music, the silence, and the brilliance of a red poppy.

 

As we ponder and reflect on the freedom we enjoy, the freedom we sometimes take for granted or abuse, I am in awe of those who willingly went to battle and continue to work in war-torn areas of our world to try and achieve peace. I am grateful for their bravery and their commitment. It is because of this bravery and commitment that we live in a great country and have so many opportunities and privileges.

I truly believe it is up to us, those who have not seen war, to promote remembering on November 11 and to take up the cause for peace. We need to take the time to pause and show our respect on November 11 and tell others: children, new Canadians, neighbors, even family why we do what we do. This leads us to being makers of peace. As peace begins in our own hearts and in our own families and in our own communities.

 

I am reminded that I have the freedom to pray and express my faith because of the freedom that this country enjoys. I am reminded that brothers and sisters around the world do not enjoy this freedom.

I am reminded that Christ is the Prince of Peace and when I stop and am quiet with my God, I encounter this settling peace. I am reminded to take this peace beyond my prayers and bring it to my world.

 

I am reminded that conflicts (although small) arise every day and it is up to me to approach these conflicts with faith and peace. I am reminded that God gives me the gifts and skills to do so.

I am reminded to walk humbly with my God and to journey deeper and deeper into peace with my Savior. I am reminded to be an instrument of love, an instrument of hope, an instrument of peace.

 

As I journey through this Postulancy Year, I am becoming more and more aware of the gift of peace that wills to settle within us. I appreciate the moments of peace that each day brings and I strive to help achieve freedom in not only in my own life but also in the lives of brothers, sisters and in our community. My faith calls me to do so.

 

Saint Francis is often credited with prayers for peace, I leave you with this thought, it opened my eyes again to freedom and faith.

“For Saint Francis peace is one of the greatest gifts,

for in peace all the other virtues grow

and because it is the gift Jesus

left us after his Resurrection.”   

– Murray Bodo

 

Lest We Forget

 

The Lord Give You Peace